Research methods in school counseling: a summary for the practitioner.

This article summarizes, for the practitioner, the key "take home" points of the 10 articles included in this special issue on school counseling research. Professional school counselors must be astute consumers of research in order to sift through the professional research literature for the practical interventions that will lead to showing they make a difference in students' lives. In addition to understanding relevant research, school counselors are increasingly being asked to provide accountability data that document their impact on student behavioral and academic performance. The information included in these articles is very timely and provides a rich resource for school counselors. The summaries hopefully will motivate the reader to explore the full articles for the rest of the story.

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The collection of articles in this special issue on research methods in school counseling summarizes a vast amount of knowledge that has been specially focused on helping school counselors to glean "what works." A few dominant themes emerge from the 10 articles: (a) One premise of school reform is that all students can achieve and school counselors are in a strategic position to advocate for students and to be leaders in helping students succeed. (b) No Child Left Behind (NCLB) legislation has placed an increased emphasis on quantitative evaluation of academic achievement, school safety, attendance, and graduation rates. (c) The ASCA National Model[R] (American School Counselor Association, 2005) in conjunction with NCLB stresses that school counselors need to conduct research on effectiveness and use empirical research to make decisions. (d) In order for school counselors to demonstrate to administrators and their community that they are essential to creating the kinds of learning environments that support academic, social/emotional, and workplace success, they need research that shows the services they provide impact key student outcomes. To do this, they need information about which interventions have been found most effective and knowledge about program evaluation. Below are highlights from each of the 10 articles contained in this special issue on research.

EDER AND WHISTON, AND DOES PSYCHOTHERAPY HELP SOME STUDENTS?

Eder and Whiston's article reviews psychotherapy research with the goal of informing school counselors and assisting them in either referring students for appropriate intervention or providing services within the school. The article shows how valuable research is for practitioners to read and conduct, for it provides research-based recommendations for designing their programs, services, and activities for students.

The authors begin by defining the scope of the problem: A significant number of children and adolescents experience emotional and/or behavioral problems that frequently interfere with learning. They point to several studies that have found a similar range (18%-22%) for children and adolescents who have diagnosable psychiatric disorders. In addition, the National Institute of Mental Health (1999) found that 1 in 10 children and adolescents suffer from mental illness severe enough to cause some level of impairment, yet fewer than 1 in 5 receive treatment. School counselors will find encouraging news from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (1999), which promotes cost-effective, proactive systems of behavioral support, at the school level, that emphasize prevention.

The National Institute of Mental Health (1999) concluded that without intervention, schoolwork may suffer, normal family and peer relationships may be disrupted, and violent acts may occur. When school personnel in 1,402 schools were asked in a recent survey about who is the most knowledgeable of mental health services, Romer and McIntosh (2005) found the top three answers were school counselor, 49.1%; school psychologist, 25.7%; and school social worker, 11.2%.

The most frequent psychiatric disorders are anxiety, conduct, oppositional-defiant, and attention deficit. In secondary students, depression and suicidal behaviors were found to be prevalent. The authors believe that school counselors are in a very strategic position to address this problem. They can observe and assess if intervention is needed and whether the interventions are having an impact.

A series of meta-analytic studies reviews of research is summarized in Eder and Whiston's article that should provide encouragement to school counselors. They show that a variety of counseling approaches are effective with a variety of student problems.

The authors further provide guidance related to which intervention works for which problem by summarizing research. Regarding anxiety, tear, and phobias, they found sufficient evidence to support systematic desensitization, modeling, reinforced practice, and cognitive-behavior therapy. Support for a cognitive-behavioral intervention for youth with depressive symptoms or subsyndromal depression has been found with the Adolescent Coping with Depression Course. This program of 16 2-hour sessions has had four randomized trials with positive results. The article also highlights a manual on cognitive-behavior treatment for children with anxiety disorders, with research support.

In general, it appears that many children and adolescents need and could benefit from empirically supported intervention but many are not receiving help. Children and adolescents need the opportunity to receive treatment. School counselors are in a position to offer such treatment if they are supported with lower student ratios and less non-direct-service duties.

WARE AND GALASSI, AND THE USE OF CORRELATIONAL AND PREDICTION DATA

Ware and Galassi's very readable article provides school counselors with some tools (correlational data and regression analysis) for describing improvement in achievement test scores. Using Microsoft Excel, the authors present an easy-to-follow description with practical examples that we all wish we had had with our research courses. Embedded in the article are some excellent strategies and resources for impacting student achievement, and especially for students in transitional years and students typically considered at risk for school failure. For example, the authors use a case involving the correlation of a sense of belonging with academic achievement and match a counselor-teacher collaborative intervention aimed at increasing sense of belonging to growth in achievement.

Ware and Galassi provide step-by-step guidance to ensure confidence in using these methods. If you have Excel and follow their example, you will have a template for use in the future that could be very helpful in your accountability efforts. Once the school counselor understands how to employ these tools, they also allow the counselor to advocate more successfully for school and classroom changes that lead to improved student academic and social/emotional development.

A variety of skills are needed by school counselors in order to enhance academic success for all students and to narrow the achievement gap between students of color and European American students. First, they must know how to analyze and disaggregate local achievement data, where to find information about effective academic interventions, and how to determine the effectiveness of interventions applied in their schools. The article provides clear guidance through practical examples on these important topics.

BAUMAN, AND THE USE OF COMPARISON GROUP RESEARCH DESIGNS

In her article, Bauman stresses the need to understand and use rigorous research designs in order for school counselors to increase the research base on school counseling. Comparison group design as well as a very good overview of research terminology are presented, including what to measure, validity, data analysis, reporting results, and several easy-to-follow examples.

Bauman points out that most of the current research on school counseling is descriptive, uses samples of convenience, lacks comparison groups, and does not monitor adherence to intervention protocol. She echoes many of the authors in this special issue when she states, "Such studies do little to add to the knowledge base of the profession, and they do not meet established standards for scientific rigor."

In the discussion of external validity (i.e., whether the results can be generalized), Bauman provides three take-away questions to ask ourselves: (a) Is the population used in the study representative? (b) Is the context (type of school or setting and conditions under which the study was conducted) representative? (c) Did the research design attend to including careful selection of students, and was there treatment fidelity (how closely the intervention protocols were followed)? Regarding internal validity, and conditions inherent in the research design that provide alternative explanations for obtained results, Bauman stresses that random assignment and replication give us more faith in being able to generalize the results.

Bauman also highlights two designs relevant to school counselors: Ca) single-group pretest-posttest design, and (b) comparison group design. Even though the single-group designs have internal validity problems and generalizability drawbacks, the findings are very relevant and applicable to the school in which the study is conducted. This is a recurring theme in several of the articles in this special issue. There is clearly a need for research that is generalizable to other school settings. There is also a need for more action research that is more aligned with program evaluation.

FARBER, AND THE USE OF QUALITATIVE RESEARCH 

Farber provides school counselors with a very good overview of the appropriate uses of qualitative research. It is a helpful supplement to the quantitative research articles included in this issue. Deciding whether qualitative or quantitative research is a better fit for you depends on the question you are trying to answer. Farber suggests that when you want to add richness or thick description to your findings, then qualitative research should be used. Qualitative research "calls for the investigator to enter the lives of the persons being studied as fully and naturally as possible." This allows for a more holistic and indepth understanding of the subject matter than a quantitative approach might allow for.

In qualitative research you are a participant-observer who operates as a research instrument. Farber outlines steps in qualitative research: Ca) Define your research questions; (b) build relationships with gatekeepers who can help you to immerse yourself into the group you wish to observe; (c) collect data through interviews and observations; (d) use personal and official documents to supplement interviews and observations; (e) do data analysis, including, for example, data coding, thematic labeling, and reliability checks; and (f) write up your findings. In short, Farber presents an overview of qualitative research that inspires school counselors to enjoy this discovery process and trust their ability to make meaningful contributions to their schools and communities through their research.

ROWELL, AND THE USE OF ACTION RESEARCH

Rowell's article focuses on how school counselors can bridge the gap between practice and research. He presents the case for action research as a key tool for helping school counselors to build community among practitioners and to adopt a continuous improvement orientation that keeps the profession fresh and reinforces a commitment to high standards.

Action research is a form of applied research aimed at improving practice. Rowell emphasizes a way of thinking that combines the progressive reformer identity with scientific inquiry. The goal is to change things as opposed to describing, understanding, or explaining. This approach encourages us to use our ability to observe scientifically as the tool for change. Action research is framed in a collaborative light that puts the school counselor in an ongoing dialogue with decision-makers. It uses a continuous cycle of action, reflection, and action that connects the impact of the action to valued outcomes.

STUDER, OBERMAN, AND WOMACK, AND THE DEVELOPMENT AND USE OF ASSESSMENT MEASURES

The article by Studer et al. provides a step-by-step model for designing testing instruments that can be effective in producing data that reflect program or intervention results. Matching assessment instruments with program objectives is critical to school counselors. When it is increasingly important to show the effectiveness of school counseling programs and interventions, school counselors need to be able to measure how their students are benefiting from counselor-led activities. The authors discuss five reasons that school counselors have been reluctant, up until now, to engage in accountability studies, and they make the case that the future of our profession is tied to successfully demonstrating through accountability studies that we do make a difference in student performance.

School counselors frequently find that commercial instruments are too expensive. Many are also afraid of constructing their own due to worry about how reliable and valid they will be. Studer et al. contend that it is possible to design well-constructed instruments that are dependable and easy to interpret. They provide some helpful tips for guiding counselors in instrument design or selection.

MCDOUGALL AND SMITH, AND THE USE OF SMALL-N DESIGNS

McDougall and Smith's article describes a new design, distributed criterion (De), which school counselors can use with small sample sizes. Small-N designs have been recommended for school counseling research most recently by the former editor of Professional School Counseling, in his "Editor's Top Ten Wish List" article (Lapan, 2005). The authors believe that this new version of small-N designs is especially suited for school counseling research.

The DC design is a hybrid of the classic changing criterion (CC) design. The CC design is aimed at measuring the effects of interventions that attempt to change (increase or decease) one target behavior. The CC design involves interacting with the student to have him or her engage in goal setting and progress monitoring. As progress is made, the criterion (goal) is changed (increased or decreased) as the student improves and meets previously set benchmarks. The idea is that repeated small improvements are more likely to produce meaningful long-term outcomes.

Like the CC, the distributed criterion design includes a baseline phase followed by a series of intervention phases, each with a distinctive performance criterion. In contrast to the CC design, DC is geared at evaluating interventions that aim to change a single behavior across multiple contexts or multiple behaviors in a single context. McDougall and Smith provide a helpful table to illustrate the differences between these two small-N designs. They conclude by providing school counselors with additional citations on small-N designs as well as resources describing effective strategies, interventions, and programs. School counselors will find many useful ideas in this article.

SINK AND STROH, AND THE USE OF EFFECT SIZES

Showing that school counselors "make a difference" in students and schools has never been more important. Sink and Stroh make a very good case for the need to understand "practical significance" and "real-world application" through the use of effect size (ES). Their effect size article provides an excellent overview for understanding this increasingly used and important statistic that helps clarify the magnitude of the impact of the intervention. The tables in Sink and Stroh's article provide quick reference to help sort out if the ES measure being cited was used correctly and whether the interpretation is in line with accepted guidelines (see their Table 1 for an especially helpful ES interpretation framework). As the field of school counseling moves toward applying research-based programs and interventions, ES will become an extremely important tool for practitioners. As more programs and interventions develop research bases, school counselors will be able to compare them across a continuum of effectiveness.

The authors discuss two major categories of ES: (a) standardized mean measures, such as Cohen's d; and (b) variance-accounted-for or variance explained ESs, such as the Pearson product correlation or eta squared (see Sink and Stroh's article for a reference). The article has provided a general guideline for interpreting whether a calculated ES should be considered to have a "small," "medium," or "large" impact. A key point the authors make is that these "strength" levels are only a general guideline and must be modified according to the context of similar research, the design of the study, and the impact of the findings.

While the standardized mean measures of ES focus upon the mean differences between intervention and comparison groups, variance-accounted-for ESs focus on how much of the variance can be explained by independent variable (intervention). Both can be very useful in understanding the practical significance of the findings. In conclusion, Sink and Stroh emphasize that the point of research should be to measure the magnitude of an effect rather than its "statistical significance." The need for understanding the importance of research in the field of school counseling has never been more critical. The authors offer compelling reasons to understand effect size in order to understand practical, real-world implications.

SABELLA, AND ASCA'S NATIONAL SCHOOL COUNSELING RESEARCH CENTER

The ASCA National Model (2005) clearly calls for school counselors to use data to drive decisions and to evaluate the impact of their programs on student success/achievement. The increasing adaptation of the ASCA National Model in schools across the nation has led to increased interest in research. Sabella gives a history of ASCA's move to stimulate research beginning with its first School Counseling Research Summit in 2003, which was when the idea of the National School Counseling Research Center was developed.

CAREY AND DIMMITT, AND THE VALUE OF THE CENTER FOR SCHOOL COUNSELING OUTCOME RESEARCH

For school counselors wishing for a way to stay up on the latest research and effective programs and interventions, the Center for School Counseling Outcome Research (CSCOR) is just what the doctor ordered. Helping school counselors in three key areas is the mission of CSCOR: (a) summarizing research showing the impact of programs/interventions on student outcomes such as achievement, safety, discipline, and postsecondary choices; (b) providing training in the use of data and data-based decision making; and (c) evaluating research-based interventions and curricula tied to student outcomes of interest.

Carey and Dimmitt's article makes the distinction between research and program evaluation, and it highlights the importance of each. Research is more generalizable and rigorous, as well as aimed at increasing the school counseling knowledge base. Program evaluation is used for the purpose of local accountability studies and tends to be less stringent in terms of research methods used. The latter approach deploys a variety of designs often using both quantitative and qualitative data (e.g., case studies, single-site documentation, quasi-experimental).

The U.S. Department of Education has developed an Institute of Educational Sciences (IES) that stresses criteria for research on educational practices, including experimental or quasi-experimental designs with randomization and multiple observations/measurements. CSCOR recognizes that practicing school counselors are seldom able to conduct such studies. Evaluation, on the other hand, is doable and is an adequate way for school counselors to answer local accountability questions. Both types of research are needed.

Similar to the IES, CSCOR has established a National Panel for School Counseling Evidence-Based Practice. It also is prioritizing school counseling outcomes and measures, reviewing outcome research literature, and identifying evidence-based practices. CSCOR is a key resource for any school counselor who wants to stay on the cutting edge of research-based practices.

CONCLUDING REMARKS

This special issue, focused on research, is a snapshot of the profession's current state of research and a guide to where the profession needs to be headed in order to continue to grow and flourish. As many of the articles clearly point out, solid research showing how school counselors connect to the mission of schools is increasingly necessary for the continued development of the profession. Showing that school counselors "make a difference" in students and schools has never been more important. There is clearly a need for school counselors to collaborate with counselor educators to conduct research that is generalizable. There is also a need for school counselors to conduct more program evaluation. These articles provide an excellent resource for moving the field along this important road.

References

American School Counselor Association. (2005). The ASCA national model: A framework for school counseling programs (2nd ed.). Alexandria, VA: Author.

Lapan, R. T. (2005). An editor's top ten wish list. Professional School Counseling, 8(5), ii-iv.

National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. (2005). Backgrounder. Retrieved October 20, 2005, from http://www.nichd.nih.gov/new/releases/americas_children05_bg_parents.cfm

National Institute of Mental Health. (1999). Myths and facts about mental illness--June 7, 1999. Retrieved October 20, 2005, from http://www.nimh.nih.gov/whitehouse/myths.asp

Romer, D., & McIntosh, M. (2005). The roles and perspectives of school mental health professionals in promoting adolescent mental health. In D. L. Evans, E. B. Foa, R. E. Gur, H. Hendin, C. P. O'Brien, M. E. P. Seligman, et al. (Eds.), Treating and preventing adolescent mental health disorders: What we know and what we don't know (pp. 597-615). New York: Oxford University Press.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (1999). Mental health: A report of the surgeon general Rockville, MD: Author.

Greg Brigman, Ph.D., is professor and coordinator of the School Counseling Program, Department of Counselor Education, Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton. E-mail: [e-mail]